Scores of Talent

The Score Dir: Frank Oz Starring: Robert DeNiro Edward Norton Marlon Brando Angela Bassett 2001 R, 124  m RATING: 8 out of 10

MAN WITH A PLAN: Three of the best actors of their generation shine in Frank Oz's absorbing, intelligent crime flick.

Josh's Movie Minute Home

Director Frank Oz is known mostly for lightweight comedies like In and Out, What About Bob?, and various Muppet movies.  The Score is his first entry outside of the comedy genre, and he's done a fantastic job creating an intelligent, absorbing, and refreshingly different kind of crime flick. Robert DeNiro stars as a brilliant, skillful thief who wants to settle down with his girlfriend, a perfunctory role played by Angela Bassett.  Problem is, he is sucked in by temptation and a huge payoff into doing one last job for retired thief and friend Marlon Brando: stealing a priceless scepter from thr 1600s.  Enter Edward Norton, who works at the customshouse being targeted for the robbery and feigns mental retardation, enabling him to get info and access about the security system. Perhaps the most attractive, engaging aspect of The Score is the variety of its three lead actors, arguably the best actors of their time.  Each brings uniqueness and individuality to their roles, all the while bouncing off each other and creating a mesmerizing powerhouse of ensemble acting.  DeNiro is calm, collected, and ever so professional as the tired, eager to withdraw thief, Marlon Brando is believeable as the seasoned, retired thief with a been-there, done-that attitude. and Norton comes off as both arrogant and knowledgeable as the rookie.  Angela Bassett, a good actrss, has little do here besides dote on DeNiro; her role is severly underwritten and could have benefitted from more development.  The Score is also an usual crime movie in that there are no grandiose shootouts, no car chases, and no climax culminating in huge fireballs and explosions.  The screenwriters have wisely chosen to let the talent of the actors and the complexity of the caper take center stage, and director Frank Oz slowly and laboriously paces the film as it leads up to the heist. relying solely on dialogue and clever plot twists to build suspense.  While The Score may sometimes seem to tread familiar ground in its plotting, the bevy of talent bursting from the three lead actors more than makes up for story lulls; in fact, it makes The Score feel more like an authentic, old-school thriller than an explosion-filled, testosterone-fueled heist flick.